Garment supporter



April 18, 1939. F, G, PURINTON 2,154,863

GARMENT SUPPORT E R Filed May 27, 1937 Eon-tag? ffarc'nion,

Patented Apr. 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in garment supporters, and more particularly to a garment supporter of the stepadjusting type.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, overalls are generally supported by shoulder straps provided with loops that are adapted to engage buttons on the overalls. Some means is generally provided for adjusting the loops on the straps, so that the garment may be adjusted to the size of the wearer.

In most instances, the metal loop is supported by a fold in the strap, which fold, in turn, is lengthened or shortened by a slide bar on the shoulder strap.

One of the objects of the present invention is to do away with this slide bar and fold of the strap and, at the same time, to provide an arrangement whereby the metal loop may be ad- 20 J'usted in a step-by-step manner on the strap, so that the overalls will be properly supported on the wearer.

Another object of the present invention is to utilize a metal loop to engage a double row of rivets, which are placed in parallel relation along the two edges of the shoulder strap.

Still another object of the invention is to so form these rivets that both the front and rear bars at the upper end of the loop will not only engage the two rows of rivets but also engage the opposite extremities of the respective rivets.

Still another object of the invention is to provide fasteners wherein oppositely positioned rows of rivets are secured near the adjacent edges of the shoulder straps, the diameter of the burrs being slightly less than the diameter of the rear bases of the rivets, so that the cross bars of the loops will properly engage the rivets at the opposite edges of the straps, overcoming any tendency of the loops to swing. Furthermore, the metal loops will be well supported from both in front of the straps and to the rear of the straps.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a garment supporter having a double row of rivets extending down the straps, so that the cross bars of the loops will engage these rivets to properly hold the same, and, at the same time, permit a step-by-step adjustment by simply pressing inwardly the two adjacent edges of the straps. Then the respective loops may be moved upwardly or downwardly to the desired position, after which the strap will again be spread to its normal position and the cross bars of the loop will engage the rivets and remain in this set position until changed by the wearer.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a garment supporter that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, consisting of but two elements, that is, the double row of rivets and an adjustable loop.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a loop that may be readily and quickly placed on the strap, thus eliminating the time now consumed in threading the conventional style of loops and slides.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain new and novel features and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully explained and pointed out in the claims.

Referring now to the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a face view of a fragmentary portion of the shoulder strap and garment, with the double row of rivets and the loop in a set position;

Fig. 2'. is a side elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a rear view of the end of the shoulder strap with the loop in place;

Fig. 5 is a face view showing the strap" being adjusted through the metal loop;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of the parts, as shown in Fig. 4.

Referring now more particularly to the several views, and for the moment to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4, there is shown a fragmentary portion of a shoulder strap I and the body of the garment 2. In most instances, these supports, aboutto be described, are used on overallsor work clothes, but the nature of the invention is such that they might be used on any garment where a supporter of this type is applicable.

As heretofore mentioned, the conventional type of garment supporter consists of shoulder straps, in which there is a bar or buckle to regulatethe length of a fold or loop in the strap, and in this fold is some form of button-engaging metal loop. With the present invention, however, I ,do,.away with this bar or buckle and simply use the two rows of rivets plus the metal loop.

Still referring to Fig. 1, there will bev seen two rows of rivets A, which are in spaced relation along the opposite marginal edges of the strap. The linear distance between the rivets maybe an inch or an inch and one-half or the distance may be slightly decreased near the lower end of the straps, so that a finer adjustment may be had.

The rivets 3 are preferably copper or coppercoated, so that they will not tarnish when the garment is washed. However, I do not wish to be limited to the metal of which the rivets are made.

These rivets 3 (see Fig. 2) have their base 4 of slightly larger diameter than the burr 5 for a specific reason, as will be later mentioned. The shoulder straps may be run through a riveter and the rivets applied along the two edges of the strap in a quick and rapid manner. Automatic machines can be arranged so that each pair of on the base 4 of the rivet.

rivets can be fastened to the strap at the one time, which will insure that the two rivets are exactly opposite each other to thus make certain that the loop will hang with its center line parallel with the center line of the strap.

The remaining part forming the garment supporter is the loop 6, consisting of the wire portion 1 that extends upwardly, and then outwardly, as at 8, back on itself, as at 8, to extend across the strap, inwardly again, at I0, and then downwardly, as at l I, so that the metal guard or sliding connector I2 will engage the end' portions 1 and I I. It is this latter part of the loop that engages under the button IS on the garment 2.

The cross bar 9 of the loop together with the two ends 8 and 10 are offset in a plane to the rear of the normal vertical plane of the loop. This may be most conveniently seen in Fig. 2.

Other forms of loops might be used in conjunction with a double row of rivets, providing the upper cross bar or strap-engaging portions are offset, so that when the body of the loop is in a ver- I tical position, the cross bar or strap-engaging portions will extend at an angle to the body of the loop; and the body of the loop being of such width that the strap, when doubled, may freely pass therethrough. Thus, the strap-engaging portions 8 and [0 of the metal loop 6 will properly engage the headed portion (burr) of the rivet 5 while the rear bar 9 will rest and be supported In this manner, the metal loop is supported both across the front of the strap and across the rear of the strap, as may be readily seen from Fig. 2. This presents a desirable supporting feature, as the strain on the rivets is equalized, that is, on the front and rear ofeach rivet. Likewise, the loop (up-per portion) is supported at its opposite edges to prevent the loop from extending out of desired vertical alignment.

To adjust the loop in any desired position, the strap I will be folded (compressed) in the fingers, so that the two adjacent edges meet, thus reducing the cross-section or width of the material. The now-folded strap may be passed upwardly or downwardly through the loop 6 the desired distance, after which the shoulder strap I will again be spread, so that it occupies the entire width of the strap-engaging portion of the loop. The said strap-engaging portions will now rest on the oppositely positioned rows of rivets and will hold this position until again changed by the wearer.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a garment supporter that is made up of but few parts, to wit, two rows of rivets and a loop, the rivets, however, being so formed that the loop is supported at both the front and rear of the strap and, likewise, is prevented from swinging out of desired vertical alignment.

Finally, the supporter is one that can be readily and quickly applied to the shoulder straps of overalls and work clothes.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. A garment supporter including a strap, button-engaging means slidable along said strap, diametrically opposite means fastened along the marginal edges of the strap and positioned on the front and rear faces of the strap for supporting the button-engaging means in a set position, and

the means that are secured along the marginal edges arranged to support the button-engaging means both in front of the strap and to the rear of the strap.

2. In a garment supporter, a strap having rows of metal projections extending down its opposite marginal edges positioned on the front and rear faces of said strap, a metal loop positionable along said strap, said loop having front and rear cross bars between which said strap passes, and the cross bars resting at their opposite ends on the oppositely positioned metal projections.

3. In a garment supporter, a strap having rivets extending along its opposite marginal edges, a metal loop slidable along said strap, said loop having cross bars at its top between which the strap passes and the rear cross bar offset Withrelation to the vertical plane of the loop, said loop thus supported by both the heads and burrs of the respective rivets and likewise supported near its opposite edges to thereby prevent the loop from swinging from vertical alignment with its strap.

4. In a garment supporter, a strap having arow of rivets extending along the marginal edges of the strap and in certain spaced relation, 2. metal loop slidable along the strap, the upper portion of the loop adapted to engage both the heads and burrs of two respective rivets to thus equalize I the strain on the base and burr of each rivet and also prevent the loop from swinging from vertical alignment with the strap.

5. In a garment supporter, a strap having a row of rivets along the marginal edges of the strap in certain spaced relation, a loop provided with cross bars at its upper end between which the strap is adapted to pass, the burrs of the respective rivets being smaller than the heads of said rivets, the rear cross bar being offset with respect to the normal vertical plane of the loop whereby the loop is supported both to the front and rear of said strap and also supported near its opposite edges to prevent the same from swinging from vertical alignment with the strap.

6. A garment supporter including a strap hav ing rivets disposed along the opposite marginal edges and diametrically opposite each other, the burrs of the rivets being smaller in diameter than the bases of the rivets, a metal loop slidable along said strap, said strap adapted to have its marginal edges folded inwardly whereby the loop can be moved along said strap to adjust the loop with relation to the desired rivets, the rivets supporting the loop near its opposite ends to prevent swinging of the same, and the said rivets also supporting the loop both from in front of the strap and to the rear of the strap.

7. A garment supporter including a strap having projections disposed along the opposite marginal edges diametrically opposite each other, a metal loop slidable along said strap, said loop being of sufiicient diameter topermit said strap to pass therethrough when in a folded condition, said strap adapted to be folded inwardly to adjust the loop with relation to the aforementioned projections, the aforementioned projections supporting the loop near its opposite ends to prevent the swinging of the same, and the said projections also supporting the loop both from the front of the strap and to the rear of the strap.

FORREST G. PURINTON. 

